Increasing Usage
Over 2.8 million $2 bills are entered at the American currency-tracking Web site Where's George? Because $2 bills are uncommon in daily use, their use can make a particular group of spenders visible. A documented case of using two-dollar bills to send a message to a community is the case of Geneva Steel and the communities in surrounding Utah County. In 1989, Geneva Steel paid its employee bonuses in $2 bills. When the bills began showing up everywhere, people recognized the importance of the company to the local economy. At least one example exists of a $2 note being used as commentary on economic events. Following the collapse of Bear Stearns, one famous photo surfaced of a two-dollar note taped above the corporate logo at the bank's headquarters in New York, in reference to the per-share price offered as a takeover bid by JPMorgan (down from $93 a share just a month before).
Use of the two-dollar bill is also being suggested by some gun rights activists to show support for Second Amendment rights, particularly at stores that allow Open Carry or Concealed carry of weapons on their premises. Two dollar notes have also seen increased usage in situations where tipping is encouraged, especially in strip clubs. This is due to the idea that tips will increase because of the ease of use of a single, higher-denomination bill as the lowest common note in use.
Read more about this topic: United States Two-dollar Bill
Famous quotes containing the words increasing and/or usage:
“As men get on in life, they acquire a love for sincerity, and somewhat less solicitude to be lulled or amused. In the progress of the character, there is an increasing faith in the moral sentiment, and a decreasing faith in propositions.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“...Often the accurate answer to a usage question begins, “It depends.” And what it depends on most often is where you are, who you are, who your listeners or readers are, and what your purpose in speaking or writing is.”
—Kenneth G. Wilson (b. 1923)